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1. APRSAF-17 On-line Registration Open
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On-line registration for the 17th session of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF-17) is open on the APRSAF website: http://www.aprsaf.org/ (you can access the registration form by clicking the APRSAF-17 registration banner, on which a koala is displayed). You may also directly access the registration form at https://www.aprsaf.org/17th/registration/1/. Please note that the deadline for the registration is October 25, 2010.

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2. APRSAF News
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- APRSAF Water Rocket
The Victorian Space Science Education Centre (VSSEC) has collaborated with the APRSAF Space Education and Awareness Working Group (SEA WG) and relaunched the APRSAF Water Rocket wiki site, which was established with the aim of sharing resources related to Water Rocket activities with educators; the URL of the site is http://wiki.vssec.vic.edu.au/waterrockets/index.php?title=Main_Page.
Further, the APRSAF Water Rocket brochure has been published, and the PDF version of this brochure has now been posted on the APRSAF website:http://www.aprsaf.org/data/w_sea_data/APRSAFWR_Brochure_2010_Sept_[1].pdf

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3. ISRO and CNES to Launch SARAL in 2011
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On August 11, 2010, Mr. Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State for Science & Technology & Earth Sciences, PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions & Parliamentary Affairs of India, announced that the Satellite with ARGOS and AltiKa (SARAL) is likely to be launched in 2011.

SARAL is a satellite that can be used to monitor the level of sea water. It is jointly developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the French National Space Agency (CNES). The satellite will carry a Ka-band radar altimeter, AltiKa, and a data collection system, ARGOS. ISRO is responsible for building as well as launching the satellite, while CNES is building the AltiKa and ARGOS payloads.

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4. LAPAN and ISRO Sign Agreement to Setup Bilateral Committee for Cooperation in Space Technology
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On August 14, 2010, the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space of Indonesia (LAPAN) declared that the primary secretary of LAPAN, Dr. Bambang Koesoemanto, and the director of the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Mr. S. K. Shivakumar, signed an agreement on August 8, 2010, in Bali, Indonesia, to set up a bilateral committee for cooperation in the fields of space technology and applications.

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5. Payloads for Chandrayaan-2 Mission Selected
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On August 30, 2010, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) stated that the seven payloads on Chandrayaan-2, which is India's mission to the Moon, had been selected. Chandrayaan-2 (weight: approximately 2,650 kg) will consist of an orbiter (weight: approximately 1,400 kg), a lander (weight: approximately 1,250 kg), and a rover. The orbiter and rover will be built by ISRO, and the lander will be provided by Russia. Chandrayaan-2 is scheduled to be launched on-board the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in 2013.

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6. GISTDA and JAXA Organize Training on Using ALOS/THEOS Data
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The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency of Thailand (GISTDA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) jointly organized training by conducting a course called 'ALOS/THEOS Data Use: Interferometry Course'; this training was conducted from August 31 to September 3, 2010, at GISTDA, Bangkok.

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7. MICHIBIKI Successfully Launched
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The first Japanese Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), “MICHIBIKI,” was successfully launched by H-IIA Launch Vehicle No.18 (H-IIA F18) at 8:17:00 p.m. (JST) on September 11, 2010, from the Tanegashima Space Center. The launch vehicle flew smoothly, and, 28 min and 27 s after lift-off, the separation of MICHIBIKI was confirmed.

MICHIBIKI is the first satellite of the QZSS, and it has been launched in order to evaluate its technological performance and its capability to complement and enhance the Global Positioning System (GPS).